Apparatus for reclaiming land.



J. BALDWIN.

APPARATUS FOR REGLAIMING LAND.

APPLICATION FILED 2mm, 1912.

1,034,675. Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

WITNESSES.-

Mum/L ATTORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANOQRAPH 00.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

claiming sand, and the workmen concrete in the well known manner.

ward of the hopper A is a guides 10, preferably 1 11, and traveling in the grooves are arms 12 rising rigidly from a large and heavy wedge 13 which may thus pass down by the edge of the platform and one front wheel so that its sharp edge 14 can enter the ground.

JOHN BALDWIN, 0F OTTAWA, KANSAS.

APPARATUS FOR REGLAIMING LAND. i

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

Application filed February 7, 1912. Serial No. 676,139.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Ottawa, Franklin county, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Be- Land; and my preferred manner of carrying out the invention is set forth in the following full, clear, and exact description terminating with a claim particularly specifying the novelty,

This invention relates to hydraulic engineering, and more especially to rammers; and the object of the same is to reclaim overfiowed and swamp lands. This object is accomplished by the apparatus hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing which gives a perspective view of the machine preferably employed.

Referring thereto by numerals marked thereon, 1, l designate planks laid upon the surface of the swampy land at proper distance apart to constitute a rough track upon which travel the wheels 2 of a large platform car that is to be moved forward intermittently by means of a traction engine (not shown) which also travels upon the track. From time to time planks behind the car are moved to a position forward of the engine in a manner well understood; and it is quite possible that if the land is extremely soft, tree tops, brush, or poles may need to be laid upon it first to serve the purpose of ties and prevent the rails from sinking into the soft earth under the weight upon the car. The platform 3 is quite large and preferably flat, and intended to support water barrels, bags of cement, piles of gravel and who will mix the y preference the mixing is done within a hopper 4 hinged as at 5 to the platform so that 1 its mouth 6 overlies the edge thereof as shown and stands about midway between the front and rear ends.

Secured to the edge of the platform forpair of upright grooved as shown at eyes 16 in this wedge,

upward between the guides, and are wound on drums 17 that are mounted fast on a shaft 18 journaled in the upper end of the guides. A large and heavy pile driver weight or rammer 20 moves also between said guides, being itself provided with eyes 21 guided on the ropes 15 so as to leave the grooves 11' free for the arms 12; and a rope 22 rises from the weight, passes over a pulley 23 hung on the shaft 18, and is led to a suitable windlass 24.

lVhile any suitable mechanism may be employed for winding up the ropes, I preferably mount an engine 25 on the platform 3 and lead power from the tract-ion engine to it through the pipe 26 (or it might be a wire if electricity were employed), the couplings being omitted from the drawing. A clutch wheel 27 splined on the engine shaft is movable in either direction b means of a hand lever 28. At one side of it is a clutch member 29 belted as at 30 to a pulley 31 on the shaft of the windlass 24C. At the other side is another clutch member 32 belted as at 33 to a pulley 34 on the shaft 18. hen the lever stands at neutral as shown, the windlass and the drums are free to permit the weight and the wedge to descend. When the lever is moved in the proper direction the weight is raised by the engine, after which a band brake 35 is applied to the windlass by another lever 36; and then the lever 28 may be moved to cause the ascent of the wedge. However, this specific means for operating the weight and the wedge is described merely for the sake of illustration, and any equivalent may be employed. I prefer, though, that the apparatus be complete within itself for reasons which will appear, although it will probably be best to mount the traction engine upon wheels of its own, and possibly a trailer car may follow the one illustrated to carry the materials from which the concrete is madethus leaving the platform practically clear for the workmen.

There are in this country large areas of land which is so low that it is frequently inundated, or so swampy and wet that it is useless, and it is the purpose of this invention to reclaim such land so that it may become useful. In brief, my method of doing so consists in sinking a cement or concrete foundation around the field to be reclaimed, which is done by the use of the apparatus above described; and then buildmg upon such foundation a concrete wall "ising as high above the surface of the earth or swamp as is necessary to prevent the inflow of water, which is done by any ordinary or approved means forming no part of the invention. Thereafter the field so inclosed is pumped out if it be wet, allowed to dry, and used for agricultural purposes; and it cannot be again overflowed because the water-tight foundation and wall around it prevent. any efforts to accomplish this reclamation of otherwise useless land have been made, but hitherto no system of laying planks as runways out onto the marsh or swamp and carrying the concrete in barrows out to the hole or trench has ever been successfully practiced as far as I am aware.

In practicing my method, the plank track is laid upon the surface of the swamp (into which it may sink slightly with no ill effects) and the platform car is drawn. o-r pushed over the same by a traction engine not shown) or other suitable source of power. Having arrived at the point where the trench is to be commenced, the Windlass is rotated to raise the weight which is held suspended by the brake, and then the clutch is shifted to cause the engine to rotate the drums and raise the wedge. The clutch is then disengaged, and the weight or rammer falls with great force, its edge entering the soft earth and its momentum and weight causing it to sink deep into the soft soil; but if it does not enter sufficiently far, the weight or rammer is raised and dropped a few times like a pile driver to drive the wedge downward as far as required. Meanwhilethe workmen are mixing a charge of concrete on the hopper in the well-known The clutch mechanism is then manipulated to cause the withdrawal of the wedge out of the earth, and immediately the traction engine is started up and the In HD1181.

' platform car drawn forward until the hopper stands over the hole left by the removal of the wedge. VVit-h no loss of time-during which the hole would fill rapidly-the workmen dump the hopper by hand or by any well known means, and the charge is dropped into the yet open hole, the impact spattering what water may have run in so that in effect it will be found that the hole is almost if not completely filled with the soft charge. This process of forming the submerged foundation is continued around Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theflfiommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

the field to be reclaimed, and in a day or two the concrete sets as usual. Thereafter it is an easy matter to build wooden forms or molds upon the upper edge of the foundation which is now hard, and mold into them a concrete wall rising from the foundation and forming therewith a water-tight s1 ructure extending from a point as far below the surface as the wedge can be sunk to a point as far above it as deemednecessary to prevent overflow. This step forms no part of my invention and is well known. The foundation once laid and set, forms a substantial base upon which the workmen can walk and work, and against which timbers may be laid or scaffoldings built in case the earth on one or both sides is extremely soft.

I have refrained from giving eventhe approximate dimensions of parts herein, because so much depends upon the nature of the swamp or marsh which is to be reclaimed. I might say, however, that the 'apparatus should be large enough to carry a good sized wedge, weight, hopper, and stock of materials, unless the latter are brought to the car or carried in a trailer. No matter what the nature of the soil, the wedge will eventually strike stones or roots and 1.

it must have sufficient weight and momentum to cut through them, with or without the use of the rammer.

What is claimed as new is:

A platform car combined wit-h grooved 1 guides rising from the edge of the car, a wedge capable of movement past the edge of the car, arms on the wedge mounted in said grooves, ropes for raising said wedge,

a weight having eyes guided on said ropes,

a rope for raising said weight, drums for drawing upon said ropes and then releasing them to drop the wedge and the weight independently, an engine on the car, and

manually cont-rolled clutch mechanism for connecting the engine with said drums separately or disconnecting it from both.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my signature this the first day of February, A. D. 1912.

JOHN BALDWIN.

lVitnesses J. A. BURK, J. H. GETTY. 

